A recent row over a chat show broadcast on the Lebanon-based LBC TV has brought to the forefront a dilemma liberal Saudi TV investors are locked in. In July, the “Red Line†show hosted a young Saudi man to talk about his sex life, a taboo topic in Saudi Arabia . The largest stakeholder in LBC is Saudi Prince Al-Waled bin Talal. The programme came as a big shock to the conservative Saudi society, apparently leaving the government with no choice but, at least, to order the man to be arrested and all LBC offices in the kingdom to be closed. The official response came amid a spate of angry reactions from members of the public who believe the show had violated conservative Islamic values. The incident appears to have opened yet another chapter in the conflict between conservative clerics and rich liberal businessmen who invest in satellite broadcasting across the Middle East . It has given conservative clerics further ammunition to fire at those who they think “destroy†Islam and its values. Conservative values In Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam and one of the most conservative countries in the world, no sexual content is allowed on television or in newspapers, magazines or books. Women are not allowed to be seen on street without being fully dressed and their hair covered. Shops must close at the time of prayers and anyone seen not praying may receive a nudge from the officers of the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice Authority. Boys and girls are not expected to be seen hanging around together in public places. That being said may explain how much of a shock it was for Saudi viewers to watch on a TV station, mainly owned by a Saudi citizen, a young man explaining how he would pick up women in the kingdom. The man did not stop at that only, but went on and gave some graphic descriptions of foreplay and provided a recipe for an aphrodisiac, let alone his confession that the first time he had sex was with his neighbour when he just turned 14. Govt embarrassed Many Saudi rich businessmen put their investments in satellite televisions which broadcast to Saudi Arabia and the entire Arab world. In addition to LBC, Prince Al-Waled has a substantial stake in Rotana, which runs a variety of channels that present entertainment programmes, focussing on Arabic music videos and movies. Sheikh Salih Kamil is the owner of the Arab Radio & Television Network (ART), and Shaykh Walid al-Ibrahim is the owner of the Middle East Broadcasting Centre (MBC), part of which is Al-Arabiya TV. The fact that Prince Al-Walid is a member of the Saudi royal family seems to have put the government in an even more embarrassing situation after the show. Seen as protector of Islam and the conservative values of society, the kingdom had to act; the man was arrested and on the orders of the country's deputy prime minister, Prince Nayif Bin-Abd-al-Aziz, all LBC offices in the kingdom were shut down. The young man confessed to pre-marital sex and talked proudly about his “sinful” behaviour, both illegal in Islam. This resulted in the filing by many Saudis of lawsuits against him in a Jeddah court for insulting the country and Islam. The closure of LBC offices was apparently intended to drive home a message, most likely to Saudi TV investors, that any programming content that would put the kingdom in an embarrassing situation would not be tolerated. Reminder To further emphasize the message, there was an additional gentle reminder that any such “offensive†content would reflect badly on the image of the country. In a statement published by the Saudi Okaz newspaper on 16 August, Abdallah al-Jaser, in charge of media affairs at the Culture and Information Ministry, urged satellite television investors to avoid “offending” the kingdom in any way. “Every Saudi who invests in satellite television channels has to feel the national and social responsibility towards the country,” Al-Jaser said, without naming any investor or channel. He asked them “not to leave management to people who have orientations and ideas that, intentionally or unintentionally, do harm to the kingdom, to Saudi investments, and to Arabs and Muslims”. Al-Jaser stressed that what was being aired by these channels, which are owned by Saudi citizens, “violated the Islamic creed and public morals and constituted a serious offence to the kingdom and to every citizen”. “These channels must not be used as a bridge for media campaigns, which serve ideas hostile to Arabs and Muslims or promote Western beliefs.” Dilemma The TV show row appears to have opened Pandora’s Box for Saudi broadcasters; it has come as a fresh opportunity for conservative clerics to lash out at the Saudi businessmen who own TV channels. “MBC, Al-Arabiya, ART and Rotana channels are all axes that destroy Islam and Muslims,” Sheikh Yousef bin Abdallah al-Ahmad, lecturer at the Faculty of Shari'ah in the Islamic University of Imam Muhammad bin Saud in Riyadh, was quoted as telling the Al-Dalil religious TV. “The owner of LBC is known. We tell Al-Walid bin Talal, fear God!” said Sheikh Ahmad. The majority of Saudi clerics seem to hold the same view as Al-Ahmad. In September 2008, a senior Saudi religious official said owners of satellite TV networks that show “immoral” content should be brought to trial and sentenced to death if other penalties did not deter them from airing such broadcasts. The fatwa was said to have been made by Sheikh Saleh al-Lihedan, the chief of the Kingdom's highest tribunal, the Supreme Judiciary Council. Al-Lihedan tried to calm the controversy his original comments had triggered, explaining that the owners of “offending†networks should be warned and punished before possibly being brought to trial and executed. However, he still did not back down. This is not the first time LBC has raised the ire of conservatives in the country, as it previously aired programs discussing controversial topics, such as homosexuality. The fact that the Kingdom has to listen to religious clerics when it comes to Islam and morality seems to have put the Saudi liberal TV investors in a dilemma. They have now to deal with the fact that any content seen in breach of Islamic values would, highly likely, backfire. **Hamza is a regular contributor to Bikya Masr BM
